The annual National Talent Identification Camp at the Olympic Training Center features a variety of instructional activities and exercises designed to assess and track fitness levels, as well as educate the young riders on several key elements of becoming successful cyclists.  The camp also represents one of the many initiatives employed by the national governing body to facilitate the development of young men and women. As emerging talent goes, the participants of this camp aspire to become members of the U.S. Junior National Team which represents the United States at international competition across the world.

Jamie on the bike portion of the event

The Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin stop for the 2010 Danskin Triathlon series took place on Sunday, August 22nd.  Race conditions were near perfect with temperatures in the upper 70’s, winds at 7-10 mph, and plenty of sunshine.   1500 Women came out to race in support of Breast Cancer Research, and we were all welcomed by friendly volunteers who saw that the race went off flawlessly.

The swim course was a .5 mile straight route across the lake.  The only hazard to the swim was the bottleneck of women within the last 100 yards of the swim finish.  The 12 mile bike course touted very good road conditions and was very well marked.  Local police and volunteers did a great job of traffic control.  The course was relatively flat with a few rolling hills.  My Blue T-12 bike led me to the fastest bike split of the day at 32:03 for an average of 22.4 mph.  The 5k run took place on the paved path surrounding the lake.  The course was flat and fast and had aid stations at miles one and two.  My overall finish for the day was 10th and I finished 2nd in my division with a total time of 01:09:57.  It was a great race, for a great cause, and I would highly recommend it to 1st timers as well as seasoned triathletes!

Podium Presentation: Team Kenda Women Addy Albershardt (left) and Jacqueline Denny (center) {Photo by Heidi Swift}

During the week of  June 22 to 27, I traveled to Bend, Oregon to race in the U.S.A. Cycling Elite/U23/Juniors Road National Championships. This was my target race of the year, and the race I looked forward to the most. I have spent many hours training and dreaming about this race. We arrived in Bend a few days before the first race to ride the courses again. I had done this race last year so I had a general idea of what I was getting into.

Road Race/Criterium (Women 15 to 16): The road race and criterium were a disappointment for me. I entered the races pumped up to race, but my body was physically off its game. I am not sure what exactly was the issue, altitude could have played a role due to the symptoms I had. I knew that this performance was not my usual, so I decided not to let them get me down. Races like that only make you stronger and make you desire the win even more.

Time trial (Women 15 to 16): I really love this time trial course. I mentally went into the race telling myself, “it’s a brand new day anything can happen”. I was focused and I was really feeling better than I had felt the other two days. I had the last start time from my group, so I had good competition as carrots in front of me. I began the race and I realized I was finally feeling like my normal self. I could breathe a lot better, and my body was responding the way it normally has. I pushed the course to my limits and rode the best I could. I had caught some riders which really spurred me on. I flew down the course on the way back and was really excited with how I was racing. I crossed the line and the announcer said I was in first. Since I was last to start I knew I had won. The feeling is indescribable and I am so blessed to be called National Champion against such a strong field of junior women. Later that night we had the podium presentation where I was able to share it with my teammate Addy Albershardt which made it even better. Earning the Stars and Stripes jersey was unbelievable and a great finish to an unforgettable U.S.A. Cycling Elite/U23/Juniors Road National Championships.

The U.S.A. Cycling Elite/U23/Juniors Road National Championships was a ton of fun. It’s the one of the only times during the year that I get to see my friends from all over the country. I definitely made friendships that will last a lifetime. After floating the river with friends on a blow up turtle raft, going shopping, and cheering on my friends in the other races; I knew this was one of the best times of my life. I will never forget the time spent in Bend, Oregon and with my win I look forward to what the future brings. Hopefully it brings me to Europe and jump starts my career in cycling. I can’t wait for next year and I am really motivated for this year’s training. It is definitely worth it!

Race Report by:  Addy Albershardt

I traveled to the U.S.A. Cycling Elite/U23/Juniors Road National Championships in Bend, OR to compete during the week of June 22 to 27.

I was really excited to come to nationals, I didn’t have high expectations coming into the week because it was my first nationals, but I did want to at least podium.  All year I have been training really hard.  Going to the mountains several times a month because we don’t have any mountains in Charlotte, NC and I would train on my time trial bike two to three times a week.  This was my first trip to the west coast and I heard great things about Bend, Oregon.  When I first arrived in Bend, it was really dry and cold and I thought that I was going to have a hard week because of the weather.  Luckily the week we were in Bend was the nicest week that Bend has had all year, so I guess we got lucky.  

Tuesday, June 22 (Road Race)  The course was a 5k circuit around a hilly golf course and 30 strong girls began the race.  The first two laps were slow and cat and mouse games were played.  The speed would go from 10 mph to 30 mph.  On the 3rd lap a gap of seven got away due to a technical, fast corner.  I knew right away that the gap would turn into a break, so I decided to bridge the gap; one other rider went with me.  The gap turned into two minutes and I didn’t this we could bridge up.  Slowly the two minute gap reduced and with about two miles to go we caught the break.  The finish was down hill into a sharp right turn with a 100 meter home straight.  Going through the corner there was a crash that I got caught behind and I finished 7th out of the 9.

Wednesday, June 23 (Criterium)  The course was flat, very technical with technical turns; it was just under 1k long with seven turns.  The race started fast from the line with 30 girls starting.  Averaging around 25-28 mph attacks and counter attacks were happening all night.  I finished 11th.

Thursday, June 24 (Individual Time Trial)  Today was the big day, I love to time trial and I would say its one of my strengths.  The course begun with four-turns to get out of Summit High School, after the turns was an upgrade going out some spots were, 10% grade, and at the seven-mile turn around.  After the turn around, the rest was downhill, literally.  I knew to go all out on the way out and give it anything I had left coming back.  9 seconds was the difference between me and the gold medal.  I was very happy to get 2nd place because this was my very first nationals and I had a not-so-lucky week, so it was nice to finish the week off on the podium for the race of the truth.

The first morning I raced, I was really nervous because I didn’t know what to expect.  The average number of girls for the races was about 30 and I thought that there was going to be less girls than that, I also thought that the competition was going to be really difficult but really a lot of girls got dropped from all the races.  And there were no race tactics between teams because everyone wants to win.  I met new girls that live all over the country and we all became best friends really fast.  One of the best things during the week was in Bend there is a frozen yogurt shop called “Cuppa Yo”.  The catchy name made the frozen treat taste even better with endless choices of toppings and all for a cheap price his is a place I wish was in Charlotte.  I am pretty sure that every racer that came through Bend went to Cuppa Yo.  This was a trip I would never forget.

(from L to R) Jen Rasmusson (Team Kenda), Leslie Jennings and Sarah Iepson (Cawes Powered By Specialized)

Team Kenda from the Mid-Atlantic Elite Team (Marni, Janelle, Chris Kelly, Tracy, Heidi, Jenn M) and myself, from the NRC team showed up for a tenacious weekend of racing in Maryland. Our pre-race plan was to try to keep two Kenda girls in contention for general classification (GC) all the way to the criterium if we could and make the field split who to chase.

The road race was a challenging rolling course with a couple of steep leg-breaking pitches and the humidity and heat did nothing to ease the day. The team road well while attacking and covering moves. In addition, Tracy and Heidi both got away for potential breakaways. Unfortunately, the field wasn’t interested in letting anyone go up the road alone and going into the bell-lap it was clear it was going to be a field sprint.

Starting the first set of stair-steppers, I dropped my chain and after my immediate horror, much to my delight both teammates Jenn M and Marni dropped back to help!  They staggered themselves from the group and launched me from one to another, so I could essentially leap-frog from one teammate to the next and then finally the field. After I connected, we settled in for the finish and it ended in a two hill – uphill field sprint and Kudos to Heidi for taking 5th and I finished 7th within 6 seconds of the leader. (before time bonus’ awarded)

The time-trial was where we planned to take the lead. Jenn Max and I had an awesome day and we went into the final stage with me leading the GC by 41 seconds and Jenn M sitting in 8th position.

The criterium was hard and hot. The goal was to keep me near the other general classification (GC) riders and work at getting Jen. Max some sprint premes in order to try and move her up a little further in GC.  Oh how plans change… Tracy unfortunately crashed and went to the hospital for X-rays. (Thankfully nothing is broken but she has lots of road rash and contusions.) Then with 7 laps to go and no free lap remaining, only 13 riders left from a 40+ rider field, I flatted on the downhill corner… Heidi and Marni selflessly dropped back: Heidi gave me her wheel and Marni gave me a pull to get me going and not to mention threw out as many words of encouragement as she could get out and still pedal at the same time. (I still don’t know how she did it!) Jen M. was in the field and tried to slow the remaining riders down, but once they knew the GC leader was chasing solo they weren’t very interested in waiting.

I chased for the last 7 laps and at one point had the gap down to about 50 seconds, but couldn’t keep it going down. In the end WE finished 2nd in GC, but it was certainly well deserved and well fought 2nd place final GC by all Kenda racers. (Washington County, June 19-20)

Full General Classification Results

Amity Elliot
Jennifer Greenberg
Ashley James
Jackie Kurth
Anna McLoon
Denise Ramsden
Melissa Ross
Silke Wunderwald

The NVGP is scheduled to run from Wednesday, June 16 to Sunday, June 20. The NVGP is the third stop in the Women’s Prestige Cycling Series.

In addition, a number of our riders have been busy writing contributions to the NVGPs blog,  we invite you to check what they had to say below:

Denise Ramsden:  Bringing International Racing to the NVGP

Melissa Ross:  A Quest to Remember

Anna McLoon:  There’s No Place Like Home

Melissa Doherty: Nature Valley Grand Prix Dreamin’

(Poolesville, MD – Sat May 15) It was a great day for a 42 miles bike race! The weather was crisp and it hadn’t rained the night before as the weathermen had predicted, (Thank Heavens!) Our Women’s 1,2,3 field was quiet small (13 in total), as many of the up in coming women 3’s were racing in the afternoon to fight for their upgrade points, or many other riders stayed home because the just don’t like riding in the dirt. Poolseville Road Race is infamous; being successful on this course comes down to two things, 1st being lucky and not getting a flat and 2nd, being tenacious all the way through to the end.

The 1st two-laps were the expected slow grinding down of the legs including never forgetting the accelerations and attacks through the dirt section. Additionally, due to our small field there wasn’t much room for hiding or opportunity to get up the road solo as everyone wanted to get up the road.

Towards the end of lap-three you could feel girls getting tired and the CAWES Cycling team started throwing in some attacks, somewhere in amongst the counters teammate Heidi Goldberg (two-time Poolesville Winner) ended up off the front with one other CAWES Cycling rider. Soon after unattached, Leslie Jennings (current MABRA BAR Champion) bridged realizing this was the break that would stick I made the move to get across the gap to solidify a four-woman break for the bell lap.

The four of us worked well together. For the 1st time this season I was starting to feel some life in my legs again and Heidi Goldberg. has been riding extremely well. Having two Team Kenda riders in a four person break certainly gave us the advantage and the only trick was going to come down to splitting the group to take the win. Heidi and I talked and I really wanted the field sprint opportunity, but our advantage was that either one of us could go for it, depending on how the race unfolded.

About 1.5K out Heidi attacked and Leslie was able to make the move, but the CAWES Cycling rider seemed finished and had caused a big gap. Knowing the race was up the road I made the decision to try and get back up to them and attempt another counter to maybe still get rid of Leslie Jennings, or at least make it really tough.

I attempted another attack only to discover I too was cracked!!! Hmm…no superman legs yet…maybe not a good idea. At this point, we were about 600m from the finish and Heidi was sitting on my wheel. I heard Heidi say the infamous sprint words “Jen, I’m here” and that was it… I wound it up and drove them in to the 250-200m mark. The three CAWES Cycling racers had managed to bridge back on, attacked for the final field sprint… Heidi putts a valiant effort in, but getting nipped at the line by Leslie Jennings (unattached). Team Kenda finished with a great showing of 2nd and 4th place at one of the hardest Road Races MABRA (Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association) has to offer.

Check out the photograph here Photo Credit:  Jim Wilson Images

(Carlisle, PA – Sunday May 23, 2010)  My 1st 40K in 2 years… How does that sound? I think it sounded awesome! After my 1st eye-opening and some what disappointed experience back into the world of  National Racing Calendar (NRC) racing at the Wilmington Grand Prix the day before I felt like I had something to prove.  My teammates had been awesome and supportive, recognizing the road back from injury can be longer than any of us want it to be, but today I had something to prove … I could still race a bike.

I’ve always felt Time Trialing would be one of my strengths if I just buckled down and did them, so this year that was my goal. The Carlisle Individual 40K TT is out on a course in beautiful rolling hill Pennsylvania.

As most of us know, an essential part of a successful Time Trial is a good warm-up. To make sure this happened I left that my house that morning at 4:30 am, to arrive by 6:30 and be ready to go by 8:30… Unfortunately, between the rain, the fog and poor navigating skills, by 8:15 I was still in my car, calling the promoter “calmly” asking him to tell me where I was when the only reference points I could give him were “I’m by some cows and an intersection of a County Rd” Perrrrfect.. no the deal warm-up.

I finally found the start-finish line (marked by the corner of a dirt road and a different feed yard, through on my kit, pulled the TT bike out of the car, rolled up to the start, apologized for my “insanity” and thanked the promoter one more time for letting me race and was off!

During my 40K I had 1 mantra – “If it wasn’t hard then everyone would do it.”… I felt surprisingly good and my body started to adjust and open-up to the effort as I focused on keeping the power steady. As I started to roll, rain drops started to fall and as if to add to the drama of the morning, as soon as I took the right turn from 3K out it started to pour! All 33K of the 40K race it was a complete downpour!

As my mantra rolled on… “If it wasn’t hard then everyone would TT” … the Kilometers started to check off, 3K, 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K… then once 25K hit it started to hurt! What had been uncomfortable just 5 minutes prior now started to become unbearable… “If it wasn’t hard, then everyone would do it.” … chanted through my mind as I felt myself trying to relax and fight to get a handle on my rapidly tiring body … 30K … the cramping was starting to sink in … “pedal, just pedal I told myself … “you know this is hard, that is why you are doing this…” 35K, 2K to go, 1K, 500M, 250M …. Finished!!!!

I rolled across the line, now allowing fatigue to set-in and relish in the satisfaction of what I had just accomplished. I felt good about my performance and although had an estimation of my time, I was looking forward the final results.

Back at registration we waited and to my astonishment I was awarded a Sub-Hour t-shirt + picture! I had raced a 59:04, in the pouring rain, with no warm-up… the fastest Women’s time not only that day, but looking back through the times, possibly ever on the course and not to mention a top 10 time overall on the course that day (excluding the Team Time Trial!)